Today we’d like to introduce you to Chanelle James.
Hi Chanelle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I envisioned my life, I always knew that I wanted to help others because of my giving, passionate spirit. I began by creating and continuing a career as an educator and developed into a writer, author, and poet. Writing for me had been technical, but as I got older, I saw more therapeutic benefits. To battle the anxiety and stressors of the world, I started to write my feelings. Those feelings turned into rhythmic, candid stories that focused on most of my life experiences along with stories that are shared with me. The poetic rhythm was birthed from my love of music. I began to share these poetic stories with family, friends, and colleagues and it took off from there. After copyrighting a collection of poems, my first book, Intuitive Ramble, was born. Intuitive Ramble is a collection of candid, themed poetry. Some of the themes include love, lust, empowerment, triumph, and faith. It was officially released in May 2021. After the release of Intuitive Ramble, I established my company Empathy Wanders, LLC (Candid Thoughts That Wander). Empathy Wanders is mindfulness, a lifestyle brand that was created as an outlet to escape life and gain perspective on how to navigate it. We offer book(s), merchandise, raw ramblings (audio clipped poem excerpts of Nelle J), creative writing services, bookings, and bi-weekly newsletters with more ideas for expansion in the future. I plan to release my second book of poetry by mid-next year. I tend to write and share frequently about current events that are on my Instagram to keep giving that dose of candidness.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Becoming an author and running a small business has definitely not been a smooth road, however, it has been a rewarding experience and challenge. Everything that I have established and crafted has been from my own research and willingness to persevere because of not having tech training, business management knowledge, and adequate funding. In addition, finding avenues to market your business in a way that is affordable can be tricky. Even though there are struggles, it still has been a rewarding experience and challenge because of the small successes that do come along with seeing the growth and progress compared to when things were first established. Because I have the willingness coupled with a ‘go get it’ attitude, I am always up for these challenges by finding ways to progress.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In addition to being a writer, author, and poet, I am also a full-time educator. I graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s of science in education in 2013 and a master’s in education and math in 2019. I have been a teacher for nine years now and I absolutely love teaching and learning. I knew teaching was my calling when I got the experience to work with children in high school. There is nothing more rewarding than shaping the mind of a child to be successful in the future. I am known as the teacher who puts her students first while accepting nothing but greatness and a ‘go get it’ attitude. I advocate for my students and colleagues while leading others professionally. I am most proud of continuing my teaching journey by constantly learning how to be better while also continuing to navigate the COVID climate in schools. What sets me apart from others is my passion and willingness to take risks.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I love about the ‘ATL’ is the culture and opportunities it provides for professionals from all walks of life. Every neighborhood you step into is a different cultural experience. Even though I am not from here, I have lived in Atlanta for more than 20 years and have witnessed how the demographic has changed. What I least like about our city is the traffic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.empathywanders.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nelle.j19/
- Other: https://thereadera.blogspot.com/2021/08/intuitive-ramble-by-nelle-j.html
